AUS vs IND | Rohit Sharma picked as vice-captain for final two Tests towards Australia
2 min read Image Source : GETTY IMAGES Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma, who spent his second consecutive day coaching on the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday as the remainder of the Indian staff unwound, has been picked as vice-captain of the Indian staff for the final two Tests.
In a press release that introduced T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur as replacements for Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) additionally named Rohit as Ajinkya Rahane’s deputy.
Rahane is the stand-in captain rather than common skipper Virat Kohli who has returned to attend the delivery of his baby.
Rohit, who has not performed any aggressive cricket since main Mumbai Indians to title victory within the Indian Premier League (IPL) in early November, had arrived in Australia in mid-December and had been below quarantine for the previous two weeks in Sydney. He had been recuperating in India from a hamstring damage sustained in the course of the IPL.
He landed in Melbourne from Sydney on Wednesday to affix the staff and had two days of observe on Thursday and Friday at the same time as the remainder of the Indian staff relaxed following its victory over Australia within the Boxing Day Test which ended on the fourth day of the Test, i.e. December 29.
Rohit has not performed a Test match since November final yr when he featured in India’s first pink-ball Test, towards Bangladesh. He had obtained completely slotted on the prime of the batting order however damage compelled him to overlook the two-Test sequence towards New Zealand the place Prithvi Shaw opened.
Rohit might now open with Shubman Gill within the third Test rather than out-of-form Mayank Agarwal though Ravi Shastri had mentioned this week that they are going to speak to him and see if he’s match sufficient.
“We will have a chat with him to see where he is placed physically because he has been quarantined for a couple of weeks. We will have to see now how he feels before we take the call,” Shastri had advised media after the second Test which India gained.
The Indian staff administration has been unaware of his progress and common skipper Virat Kohli advised media on November 26, forward of the ODI sequence, that he had not been saved abreast with batsman’s progress.
India squad for the final two Tests: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Thangarasu Natarajan.
